As you know, we've been dealing with reflux issues. Our pedi prescribed medication and I was hopeful it would do the trick. It was the same medication Avery took as a newborn for her reflux, and while she spit-up a ton for her first 6 months (and lived in a bib), she wasn't in pain. Avery was also on a formula for babies with reflux and thrived on it (better than she ever did on breastmilk). So I was hopeful that the same combination would work for Holden. Not so much. We've jumped from formula to formula to try and find something that works. In addition to reflux, we've been dealing with excessive gas and constipation. But due to his age, it's always difficult to tell what the culprit is and as we know, every baby/person is just different. We finally ended up on a hypoallergenic formula, a new brand of bottles, probiotics (for his digestive woes), and reflux meds, hoping we found the right combination.
You know where this is going right?
We weren't so lucky.
While the formula seemed to work well with his system, we were still dealing with gas (which I wasn't really worried about, it's just annoying), constipation (as I've written about before) and reflux symptoms that first improved on the meds but then slowly got worse. Holden started fighting at least one bottle per day (screaming, crying, arching through a feeding) and appeared to be in significant pain. It got to the point where one bottle became two, then three and so on. His projectile spit-up worsened and I had a feeling something was wrong and the reflux meds weren't doing their job. So off to the pedi where I was told his reflux meds are maxed, he's in a fussy stage so is probably just crying for no reason and since he's gaining weight everything is fine. Not the answer I wanted but what are you going to do.
So things worsened and we got to the point where every bottle was a battle. And I truly believe feedings are supposed to be enjoyable for babies - aren't they supposed to be soothing? Holden started eating less and I was getting more and more concerned. I never really believed he was just fussy - he literally smiles and coos in between spit-ups and whenever he's not eating. I actually think he's laid back - just uncomfortable! I truly believe you need to be your child's advocate. If you're not, who else will be? I don't care if some doctor thinks I'm a crazy mom who's just sleep-deprived and looking for a miracle (even if there's some truth to that! hehe). I called my pedi early this week and explained that something is wrong and the meds aren't working. (note, I actually love my pedi, the dr I saw the week before was another dr in the practice). She put us on a new reflux medication (prevacid) and recommended we see a pediatric GI (gastroenterologist). So I called and was told the earliest they can see us is January 28th. Well that clearly wasn't going to work, I fought back and they got us in the next morning - albeit in the suburbs and a bit of a drive - but they got us in. (these are the times I remind Eric of the benefits of having a stubborn, pushy, type A wife).
Off to the GI. He confirmed the prevacid prescription is the correct medication (I still think the dosage is too low but we'll see) and found that Holden has a cow's milk allergy or MSPI (milk soy protein intolerance). We are already on hypoallergenic formula but there was still a lot of blood in his stool (but you could only see it by testing it). MSPI symptoms include: severe reflux, excessive gassiness and bloating, constipation, long crying spells, irratibility, poor sleeping, blood in stools, and a few others. Since there was still blood present while on the hypoallergenic formula we have to go the next (and only other) level of formula - elemental formula. These are the only formulas that have all dairy and soy proteins completely broken down into their component amino acids (and therefore no chance for reactions). They smell like crap and are ridiculously expensive.
The good news - hopefully we know the issues and have found a way to remedy them.
The bad news - transition to these types of formula is horrible (decreased eating, increased gassiness, fussiness, etc), can cause reflux to flare and takes about two weeks to see results. Ditto on the reflux meds, takes days to see results and really two weeks for it to fully kick in. So basically, it gets worse before it gets better. While two weeks may seem like nothing to you - to me it sounds like a lifetime right now!
Hopefully these two weeks fly by and we see some results. Fingers crossed for us!!
Oh - and sleep training - yep, that has been put on hold! Want to get this little guy on track first and then our sleep will come - some day!
I leave you with a couple pics to put you in the holiday spirit.
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